Half the Earth largely untrammeled by humans

As the human population surges toward 10 billion strong, we are gobbling up the undisturbed ecosystems that provide the clean water, carbon storage, and pollinator services our species needs to thrive. Leading up to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, now scheduled for 2021 in Kunming, China, conservation advocates have built momentum for protecting at least half of the Earth's surface by 2050. This proposal is getting a boost from a new study that demonstrates that about one- half of the world's land surface has a low degree of human influence. The study also pinpoints where conservation action can help save the planet's last intact ecosystems before they are completely lost to development.